PROPERTY CRIMES LEAD TO 20-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR SPARTANBURG MAN

A Spartanburg man received a 20-year prison sentence and five years of probation today after he accepted responsibility for two business break-ins and two forgeries.

Bobby Lewis Dandy, 35, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree burglary and two counts of forgery. Circuit Judge Alexander McCauley sentenced Dandy to serve 15 years on the burglary charges and he was issued a 10-year sentence that was suspended to five years of service and five years of probation on the forgery cases. The forgery sentence is consecutive to the burglary sentence.

The first burglary occurred Dec. 16, 2004 at Gerald’s Grocery, 829 S. Church St. About 3:10 a.m., Dandy used a water meter to smash the front window of the business. He took $250 worth of cigarettes, according to Assistant Solicitor Rob Rhoden.

The second break-in occurred Jan. 11 at the Li’L Cricket Food Store, 549 John B. White Sr. Blvd. When Spartanburg Public Safety officers responded to a burglar alarm about 4:25 a.m., they saw Dandy riding a bicycle toward Imperial Drive. Dandy led officers on a foot chase when they approached him for questioning. He dropped some stolen cigarettes while he ran from police. The business reported a $46 loss.

The forgery offenses occurred in May 2003. Both checks were valued at more than $5,000.

Dandy’s criminal record dates back more than a decade with multiple convictions for burglary, larceny, drug offenses and robbery.